Lehi softball reaches out to support Orem after vandalism
Lehi senior Lexi Butterfield (center) presents a donation to the Orem softball team to support the Tigers after their field was vandalized at the beginning of July. The presentation came after the 17-6 Pioneer win in five innings at Orem on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
Orem head coach Pablo Barker-Valdez tries to set pads upright before softball practice held at Orem High School on Monday, June 1, 2020. The pad, along with several spots on the dugout, were vandalized with racist and homophobic graffiti over the weekend. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
A Lehi baserunner tries to avoid being tagged at second during the 17-6 Pioneer win in five innings at Orem on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
The Lehi softball team welcomes senior Lexi Butterfield to home plate after she hit a home run during the 17-6 Pioneer win in five innings at Orem on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
Lehi shortstop Avery Takahashi throws the ball during the 17-6 Pioneer win in five innings at Orem on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
A Lehi batter hits the ball during the 17-6 Pioneer win in five innings at Orem on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
An Orem batter watches a pitch go by during the 17-6 Tiger loss to Lehi in five innings at Orem on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
The Orem softball team talks things over during the 17-6 Tiger loss to Lehi in five innings at Orem on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
Orem pitcher Kaylee Lyman throws a pitch during the 17-6 Tiger loss to Lehi in five innings at Orem on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
Lehi pitcher Grace Humes throws a pitch during the 17-6 Pioneer win in five innings at Orem on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
Orem outfielder Kinsley Goza leaps to attempt to snag a fly ball during the 17-6 Tiger loss to Lehi in five innings at Orem on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
Lehi players walk past and wave to Orem players after the 17-6 Pioneer win in five innings at Orem on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
Lehi senior pitcher/utility player Lexi Butterfield said she was “heartbroken” when she heard last week about the graffiti and vandalism that occurred at the Orem High softball field.
“I know that if it happened to my field, I would be both mad and heartbroken,” Butterfield said. “It’s terrible to have that on top of not getting to play the season.”
She decided that she was going to do something about it.
Butterfield spearheaded an effort with her Lehi softball team to gather donations.
“I heard they had cleaned up the graffiti but I still wanted to do something for them,” Butterfield said. “I wanted them to know that we in the Lehi community care, for them to know we are there for them.”
Pioneer head coach Tim Kennedy lauded Butterfield’s efforts and said she deserves the credit for leading the way.
“There are a lot of things that aren’t positive going on right now but she wanted to reach out,” Kennedy said. “She did it herself. I didn’t even know how much had been raised until today.”
Butterfield presented the donation of nearly $500 to Orem head coach Pablo Barker-Valdez after Lehi defeated the Tigers, 17-6, in five innings in a game at Orem on Wednesday.
“It made me feel really good,” Butterfield said. “Ending my senior year this way and developing better relations with Orem, it just makes me feel happy to help in anyway I can.”
Barker-Valdez said that type of effort is an indication of the caliber of athletes Lehi has.
“I have the utmost respect for Tim Kennedy,” Barker-Valdez said. “This says a lot about his program, the community and also the parents who have raised these girls. We’ve had so much support, from text messages to donations. It’s a statement that we will not stand for this behavior, that we will shine light on the good in Utah.”
Kennedy and the Pioneer program have faced a number of challenging times themselves in recent years and he said he has valued the support of the softball community.
“It’s been great to give back,” Kennedy said. “Pablo is a friend who helped put these games together, so giving back is certainly important.”
The Pioneers and Tigers are both enjoying the chance to play a few more softball games after most of the 2020 season was canceled due to efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“It feels amazing to be out here,” Butterfield said. “I’ve been looking forward to this every since the coronavirus pandemic started. Being out here and getting the feel of the dirt brings a lot of joy back.”
In Wednesday’s game, Lehi was able to seize the early momentum as the Pioneers built a lead quickly.
“We were able to get out to that early lead, although we fizzled a little toward the end,” Kennedy said. “We’ve often been a team that has scored more runs later in the game but today we were ready to go.”
Although the big deficit proved to be too much for Orem to overcome, Barker-Valdez said he saw some good things from his Tigers.
“We’re rusty and we need to polish things up,” Barker-Valdez said. “You’ve got to come to play against Lehi. We had some good plays but we need to play the entire game like we did in the last couple of innings. My girls are fighters. They never gave up and that speaks to who we are.”
As competitors, both the Pioneers and Tigers always want to win — but at this time getting to play as well as support each other is much more important.
It’s especially significant for the seniors (Butterfield and Jordon Pavelka for Lehi, Elizabeth Avery and Kacie Nau for Orem) who are getting to play a little more softball before they move on to other things.
“After graduation, I think things have set in,” Kennedy said. “I think there has been some discouragement, so helping others has been really good.”
Both teams still have a couple of more games. Orem will play at Timpanogos on Monday, while Lehi hosts Mountain View the same afternoon.
Both games are scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.